Is there any stopping Amy Schumer? The New York comic took 2015 by storm, writing and starring in hit comedy film ‘Trainwreck’, recording the second season of her critically acclaimed sketch and stand-up show ‘Inside Amy Schumer’ and supporting Madonna at arenas in the US. Fast-forward to 2016, and she’s about to make her London stand-up debut at the cavernous O2. The hard work, it seems, is paying off.
Here’s the thing: Behind Amy Schumer’s apple-cheeked, butter-wouldn’t-melt smile, lurks something wicked, devilish. Over the course of 12 years and three specials, the 35-year-old has birthed a stand-up monster: a dark-hearted ditz for whom no subject is off limits, no joke too filthy.
It’s bracing stuff, for sure, but also not that uncommon: after all, you can’t swing a dildo in a NY comedy club without hitting a comic of the don’t-go-there school. What sets Schumer apart is the quality of her gags – up there with her comedy hero Joan Rivers – and her ability to ride the line between shock and offence.
How deep she delves is questionable: Her material on race, promiscuous sex and abortion is, in truth, just a vehicle for hilarious gags. Nothing wrong with that, of course; but occasionally you’re left hungry for more meat on those comedy bones.
Often held up as a feminist crusader, the truth is Schumer isn’t the placard-waving kind, preferring to tackle things in her own no-holds-barred way. Indeed, the best skits from ‘Inside Amy Schumer’ – particularly 12 Angry Men in which males jurors deliberate on whether or not she’s hot enough to be on TV – are pitch-perfect takes on 21st century womanhood. But stand-up is where she’s most at home.
Don’t miss her one-night-stand in the capital.